Causa Proxima: The Parameters of Perils of the Sea

Abstract

This study is carried out with the purpose of examining the questions of causa
proxima and perils of the sea, which is one of the most popular and commonly
covered marine risks under the contract of marine insurance. A study on the
question of perils of the sea alone, without being connected to the question of causa
proxima, cannot be completed nor comprehended because these two key areas in
marine underwriting are inextricably woven together.
This work reveals that the meaning and application of the doctrine causa
proxima non remote spectatur (the proxima and not the remote cause must be looked
into) are not as easy as they seem to be. There have been contradictions in the
meaning of the words "proximate cause", which circumstantially reflects the
inconsistency in the approaches adopted by the courts in construing the words Another difficulty has been found in applying the doctrine where no specific
guideline has been introduced, by the relevant statutes or from the judicial
precedents, on how the doctrine should be enforced. The tracking made on judicial
decisions dealing with these questions has shown that the interpretation and the
application of causa proxima were dealt on the individual basis by the judges without
looking further back.
Another revelation by this work is on the parameters of the term "perils of
the sea", which had become unclear due to the two detected problems i.e. the
inconclusive meaning of perils of the sea and the indefinite extent of perils
enumerating the term.
This work has been carried out with the commitment and determination to
solve the above unresolved problems. The study conducted was carried out with the
purpose of finding the best solutions to those problems coupled with the hope to
provide clearer and more definitive answers to them.
This paper is laid down in five chapters. The first chapter deals with
Introduction, which speaks of marine briefly on the contract insurance as well as on
the problem statement and methodology of the study. The second chapter comprises
of two main areas; the first one deals with the doctrine of causa proxima, it's meaning
and application while the second area deals with perils of the sea and the exclusions
for the purpose of looking into the meaning of perils of the sea and it's boundary.Under Chapter Three and Four, a review and analysis of the problems, which
are extracted from numerous cases and opinion of various scholars, are revealed that
are hoped to provide clearer, if not definite, answers to problems stated in chapter
one. Under the third chapter, the meaning and application of causa proxima are once
again dealt with while the fourth chapter, by exposing the reviewed meaning of the
expression "perils of the sea" as well as listing down the established perils
enumerating the range of perils of the sea and the limits to such range, explicitly
divulges with clearer parameters of the expression.
The final chapter comprises of two main parts; the summary deals with the
problems detected and the findings to those problems and the second part, the
conclusion, deals with the assessment and analysis founded from the study
conducted